This time, what appeared was a ten-year-old young man. Unlike the previous two middle-aged men, he was not walked in, but carried in, his face ashen, his lips cracked, looking extremely weak, gasping for air in great gulps, seemingly near death.

"Nie Kong, this little fellow cultivates both the heart-form of my Dragon Spirit Clan and Water Spirit Power. Yet just last night, for reasons unknown, the Water Spirit Power within him suddenly solidified, and not long ago, even his heart-form solidified. I just received word moments ago and ordered his parents to bring him here," Long Tiangong said solemnly. "Now, his condition will serve as the topic for this second sparring session; the original second match will be moved to later."

"Long Xinyang! That's Long Xinyang!"

"What happened? I was cultivating with him just yesterday!"

"..."

The crowd immediately recognized the young man and grasped the gravity of the situation. For a moment, a profound silence descended upon the Dragon Pearl Hall.

Long Zhaojun nodded slightly, her expression turning grave.

It was then Nie Kong realized this second sparring session had not been prearranged, but was an unexpected emergency.

Long Tiangong must have just seen Long Xinyang, and surely had personally examined the situation within his body. Though the Dragon King was not a Spirit Apothecary, his profound cultivation meant that most problems arising from practice could be resolved with a casual touch. The fact that Long Xinyang had to be carried in clearly indicated a highly intractable issue.

In an instant, Nie Kong spoke, "Third Elder, you go first."

"Very well!"

Long Zhaojun did not demur. She squatted down, pointed the tip of her right index finger at the center of Long Xinyang's brow, and a murky red aura burst forth from her fingertip. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped Long Xinyang's head, then rapidly spread, encasing him in a large red cocoon in less than two seconds.

The searing aura slowly dissipated...

Time ticked by, and everyone watched Long Zhaojun with a tense anxiety. The atmosphere within the Dragon Pearl Hall grew somewhat oppressive; even Long Xuechan dropped the seductive smile from her face.

After a full two or three minutes, the fiery red color rapidly receded from Long Xinyang's body.

A moment later, Long Xinyang's head was revealed. His complexion was now paler than paper, his breathing heavier, more ragged, and large beads of sweat dotted his forehead. Seeing him in this state, the middle-aged couple who had carried him in had bloodshot eyes, anxiously asking, "Third Elder, how is he?"

Long Zhaojun's expression was deeply serious. "I exerted every ounce of my skill to investigate, but not only did I fail to find the cause of his illness, it actually worsened his condition slightly."

"Ah?"

The middle-aged woman cried out, fainting instantly, while the man turned ashen-faced, etched with pain. Due to the difficulty of procreation, every descendant was a treasure to the Dragon Spirit Clan, yet now even the Third Elder Long Zhaojun was helpless. Who else could save Long Xinyang?

The surrounding crowd remained silent, their looks dim.

Nie Kong, however, was greatly astonished. He had been closely observing when Long Zhaojun made her move to investigate. Strangely, he discovered that after Long Zhaojun's Fire Spirit Power entered Long Xinyang's body, it had no beneficial effect; instead, it caused Long Xinyang's vitality to slowly diminish.

"Nie Kong, you try."

Long Tiangong suddenly spoke, his voice echoing in the hall.

The crowd was jolted awake, their gazes snapping toward Nie Kong. The middle-aged couple looked as if they had found a lifeline, undisguised hope flashing in their eyes. The thoughts of everyone became active; after all, the ability Nie Kong displayed during the detoxification earlier had been astonishing.

Snake Fang sneered at the sight. Even Long Zhaojun couldn't manage it; what could he possibly do? Over the past few days, he had heard many rumors from the Dragon Spirit tribesmen—some claiming Nie Kong was a Seventh-Grade Spirit Apothecary, others that the 'Green Shadow Elixir Pearl' that appeared in Spirit Imperial City was refined by him. He utterly refused to believe any of it.

"I will do my best."

Nie Kong nodded, sat down cross-legged beside Long Xinyang, and took hold of his trembling right hand, allowing the fragrant innate medicinal power to seep in.

"Spring Wind Transforms into Rain!"

Upon receiving Nie Kong's intent, the little fellow's innate medicinal power exploded outward layer by layer within Long Xinyang's body, and a cool essence instantly permeated every part of his being.

In the next moment, Long Xinyang's gasping subsided, his breathing gradually stabilized, and a faint flush of color visibly returned to his pale cheeks.

"He's better? Look! Xinyang is fine!"

"Could it be Xinyang was poisoned, and now the poison is absorbed by him, and he's immediately recovering?"

"Is this it? Don't make us worry so much!"

"..."

The crowd stared blankly for a moment, unable to suppress the shock and joy surging in their chests. Even several of the dozen or so Elders abruptly stood up.

Long Xinyang's parents were ecstatic beyond measure. If Nie Kong hadn't still been seated on the ground, the middle-aged man would have enthusiastically enveloped him in a bear hug long ago.

"How is this possible?"

Snake Fang’s jaw dropped; he was utterly dumbfounded. No matter how much he loathed Nie Kong, he had to admit that as soon as Nie Kong acted, Long Xinyang’s condition clearly improved.

Hearing the sounds of relief all around, Nie Kong offered a wry, internal smile. How could he be healed so quickly? He had merely used the little fellow's innate medicinal power to temporarily alleviate the illness.

This was only treating the symptoms, not the root cause!

"Don't celebrate too soon; this improvement is only temporary."

Nie Kong dampened their spirits slightly before closing his eyes. Hearing his words, everyone calmed down somewhat, but the expectations in their eyes as they looked at Nie Kong grew stronger. Even the young Dragon Spirit men who were consumed by jealousy toward Nie Kong desperately hoped he would succeed.

Nie Kong's mind quickly settled.

Having learned from Long Zhaojun's previous attempt, Nie Kong dared not deploy the essence of a Spirit Treasure this time. Instead, he guided the little fellow's innate medicinal power to circulate within Long Xinyang's body. Just as Long Tiangong had described, the Water Spirit Power in Long Xinyang's meridians had entirely solidified—a condition similar to the body Nie Kong had first possessed when his soul attached itself.

However, the similarity was only superficial.

Finding nothing within Long Xinyang's physical body, under the control of Nie Kong's consciousness, the little fellow's innate medicinal power traveled to Long Xinyang's brow.

That was where his heart-form was condensed. Long Xinyang's entire vital energy was weakening, yet only the vitality contained within this heart-form remained relatively robust.

Indeed, as the innate medicinal power probed into Long Xinyang's heart-form, Nie Kong experienced a strange sensation. What astonished him even more was that this sensation felt intensely familiar.

Nie Kong had felt this exact sensation last night while performing the spiritual thought technique 'Ethereal Fusion' inside the Dragon Temple, though the current feeling was significantly weaker than it had been then.

Nie Kong was filled with doubt. He had only sensed that mysterious call in the Dragon Temple last night, and immediately afterward, Long Xinyang developed this bizarre illness, with the strange malady beginning precisely last night. Could Long Xinyang's condition be linked to his actions at that time?

: Those chapters have been removed primarily due to concerns about censorship; in fact, not only those chapters, but the earlier 'XXX' scenes were also heavily shortened. The physical edition doesn't require such cuts; Taiwan isn't as strict, and as long as it doesn't become explicitly restricted material, it should be fine. I ask for your understanding; if we truly attract the 'Harmony God Beast,' even updating will become impossible (the above does not count towards word count). ^^ ... ......RO